This week saw yet another venerable collegiate institution, The Citadel, go public with the fact that it failed to report allegations of child sexual abuse to law enforcement. On Tuesday, November 15, 2011, the president of the military college announced that it did not inform the police about sexual abuse allegations it received from a former Citadel Summer Camp attendee in 2007. The report alleged that, in 2002, Camp Counselor Louis Neal “Skip” ReVille engaged a group of young boys in group masturbation and the viewing of pornography.
At his press conference yesterday, The Citadel’s President John Rosa acknowledged that the allegations should have been reported to the police, and the school released documents linked to their 2007 internal probe of the allegations. The Citadel’s current public disclosure and promised information sharing is extremely important for the prevention of future child sexual abuse, yet there is no doubt that the school’s concealment needlessly placed children in danger. In 2007, The Citadel’s general counsel found the sexual abuse allegations believable, but the police were not informed. Additionally, The Citadel did not actively seek to protect children by doing its part to prevent ReVille from accessing children. Now, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina Police accuse Skip ReVille of molesting five teenage boys. Reville has admitted guilt in at least three cases committed between November 2010 and October 2011.
In addition to serving as a summer camp counselor at The Citadel, ReVille worked as an English teacher at Pinewood Preparatory School from 2002-2006. Today, Dr. James Mann, Chairman of the Board for Pinewood Preparatory School, stated that there were no reported sexual abuse allegations from ReVille’s employment at the school. Given ReVille’s sordid history of sexual misconduct, however, there may be victims from Pinewood Preparatory School who have yet to come forward.
The Citadel’s President Rosa stated that he was “sickened and saddened that someone so close has betrayed our trust.” The American public is, no doubt, sickened and saddened once again by the betrayal of the trust we have put in institutions designed to educate and protect our children. One wonders how many more of our revered public educational institutions have needlessly jeopardized the lives of our children?